This invention relates to an aspirator device for removing body fluids, and more particularly, to an aspirator device which allows fluid to be withdrawn from a patient's body cavity without contact with the user of the aspirator device.
Aspirator devices are used to remove meconium and other body fluids from newborn infants during and after the delivery process. An obstetrician typically utilizes the aspirator device during the delivery process. Pediatricians also use the aspirator to remove fluids from a newborn infant following delivery.
One aspirator device that is typically used for this purpose is the "De Lee Suction Catheter With Mucus Trap" manufactured by the Sherwood Medical Company of St. Louis, Miss. This device includes two elongated flexible plastic tubes each having one end connected to a mucus trap or liquid collector. The free end of one of the elongated flexible-plastic tubes forms a catheter-type tip for insertion into the mouth of a newborn infant, while the free end of the other elongated flexible plastic tube includes a mouthpiece for mouth actuated operation by a physician. When a physician inserts the catheter-type tip into an infant's body cavity, via the infants mouth, and sucks on the mouth-piece in the aspirator device, body fluids are drawn from the baby, even while the newborn infant is still in the birth canal. Fluids, including both gas and vapors as well as liquids, which often contains suspended-particulate matter, are drawn from the body cavity. The gas and vapor components of body fluid are drawn into the user's mouth and the liquid component is collected in the mucus trap. The gas and vapor components drawn into the user's mouth are thereafter ejected into the atmosphere. On occasion, where there is an excessive amount of meconium in the body cavity, or the mucus trap becomes inadvertently tipped or tilted from the vertical, meconium fluid can be drawn into the mouth of a physician. While this unpleasant circumstance does not repeatedly occur, every obstetrician and pediatrician has faced this situation. If the baby or the mother is infected with Aids and/or other highly contagious disease, it is apparent that the continued use of such aspirator devices is not desirable.
Another disadvantage of current aspirator devices is that they use long and thin catheters which impose high drag to the flow of liquids of even moderate viscosity requiring an unnecessarily greater effort by the user when drawing fluid from a body cavity.
Some hospitals recommend against using the aforementioned commonly used aspirator device or require that it be connected to a remote vacuum pump as the suction source. Such vacuum sources are not always available, and when they are, they impose certain inconveniences such as connecting a hose between the aspirator and vacuum pump, and regulating the vacuum. Aspirators designed for use with remote-vacuum sources are equipped with vented-coupling adapters. For the user to draw fluid from a patient he or she must cover the vent with one of the fingers of one hand while manipulating the catheter into and within the body cavity from which fluid is to be drawn with the other hand thereby requiring two hands to operate the aspirator when one hand is needed to steady and guide the newborn through the birth. Alternatively an assistant can be used to make and break the vacuum on command from the user. In addition, there is always a chance of contaminating the entire hospital vacuum system. The aspirator disclosed herein is not limited to the delivery room of well equipped hospitals. It can be used in doctors offices and elsewhere where vacuum sources are not generally available. An example of such a use is the removal of fluid from nasal sinuses.
In an attempt to alleviate the potential for spread of disease associated with the aforementioned typically used aspirator device, some manufactures have inserted filters between the mouthpiece and the mucus trap or fluid collector of the aspirator device seeking to catch ultra-microscopic and sub-microscopic organisms and infectious agents. It is well known that filtering devices that pass the flow of gas easily by themselves are incapable of completely filtering-out all minute-harmful organisms or agents. In addition, such filters have been known to block flow through the aspirator device as a result of latent-minute liquid droplets carried to the filter by gas drawn through the filter from the infant's body cavity and by the liquid meconium coming into contact with the filter. When blockage occurs, the physician may have to discard the entire aspirator device and then retrieve a new one in order to continue the removal of meconium or other fluids from the newborn infant.
In order to allow a physician or other user to both remove and measure the quantity of meconium from a newborn infant, while also permitting excess overflowing fluids to be removed from the system, without risk to the user, we have disclosed a new and improved apparatus and method in our prior co-pending application Ser. No. 07/144,375 which was filed on Jan. 5, 1988 and entitled "ASPIRATOR DEVICE FOR BODY FLUIDS", now U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,488 dated May 1, 1990. In our aforementioned patent, we have employed a squeeze bulb which is operatively associated with first and second one-way valves which open in the same direction, the first valve establishing a vacuum in the system for removing and depositing potentially harmful liquids in the mucus trap or liquid collector, and the second valve not only working to establish the vacuum, but also serving as an overflow valve for the gas and vapor component of body fluids as well as any liquid component that exceeds the capacity of the liquid-collector. The squeeze bulb is operatively associated relative to the other components of the aspirator device to also facilitate one-handed gripping, lifting and operation of the aspirator device by the squeeze bulb.
While our aforementioned patent demonstrates a novel and unique apparatus and method for overcoming the aforenoted deficiencies of prior art devices, we have discovered still another important way of achieving the same end result.
As is well known, present mouth-actuated aspirator devices have several very desirable features including suspension of the aspirator device from the user's mouth, often prior to the emergence of the infant's head, thus freeing the user's hands to manipulate the infant though the birth canal, or facilitating the holding of the infant's head with one hand, while guiding the catheter through the infant's mouth or nose into the body cavity with the other. Also, it is well known that current mouth-actuated aspirators are low cost, disposable, sanitary devices which have a very high degree of reliability from physical failure.
The present invention is directed primarily to a mouth-operated aspirator which overcomes all of the aforenoted deficiencies, while retaining the above recited advantages which are inherent in mouth-actuated aspirator devices. It will also be seen in the discussion that is to follow that the novel and unique apparatus of the present invention may also be used as a hand operated aspirator device.